When the Lights Go Out
by Final Hikari
Summary: The first lock on his door was an ordinary one. When the sky was dark and it was time for the candles to go out, it was always sealed tightly. In spite of that, there were still too many times when the risk of royal blood outweighed everything else.


_When the Lights Go Out_

Several hours had passed since the maids blew the candles out, but he hadn't been able to fall asleep. He rolled over for must have been the umpteenth time.

The first lock on his door was an ordinary one. When the sky was dark and it was time for the candles to go out, it was sealed tightly. Three copies of the key had been made; one for himself, one for his guard, and one for his father, the king. The latter never saw much use because of King Ferdinand's demanding schedule and deficit of time to spend with his son.

Even when it was dark, the situation seemed safe enough for Windor's prince. The same couldn't be said one night after the lights were out when that guard was killed outside of Richard's door. An assassin had crept in to kill him in his sleep, but failed because the young prince had been unable to sleep and notice the blood seeping under his door. At that age, he was still small enough to hide in the closet. That particular assassin had killed himself before they could make him admit to working for Cedric.

The second lock was installed on his door after that. This time, only he and his father had copies of the key. Regrettably, his father was a very busy man with concerns that went for beyond his own son's safety. The prince liked to think that his father cared enough to keep they key safe, but a disloyal maid had managed to steal it from him. _That_ particular assassination attempt was burned into his memory – he had hidden in the bathroom that time after the woman tried to stab him. He remembered it too well – the lock wasn't going to keep her out for long, so in fear and haste, he set a simple trap to make her slip.

She hadn't expected the nine-year-old prince to be running to lay a trap in the dark. She fell when hurrying inside the room and cracked her head against the side of the bathtub. She bled to death by the time he returned with help, thus never having the chance to admit her alliance to Cedric.

Regardless, he was young, but he was not a fool. He knew not to trust anyone, even if they called themselves "family".

Needless to say, now that he was twelve with twice as many locks on his doors and windows, he had enough bad experiences to know that going to Lhant was a dangerous idea. He had been dreading it since it was decided without his say in the matter. It was a quiet, little town, but that didn't make it safe.

Part of him wished that he could look forward to leaving Barona to see new places. The palace was a cage, albeit a beautiful and glittering one. His wiser side kept reminding him that the security was going to be spotty at best. As far as he knew, only a handful of guards would be accompanying him in addition to Bryce.

He sat silently as he watched a maid pack his suitcases for the upcoming trip. It was one of those tasks that he would have preferred to do on his own, but they always insisted that it was unbecoming of a future king to be bothered by trivial things.

That was, of course, assuming that he would live long enough to ascend to the throne.

"Would you like me to pack a hat for you, Your Highness?"

"Don't bother, I don't need it," he said blankly.

_There's nothing for me in Lhant…it's just an extension of this cage._

Richard looked over to the window dismally, wondering if he was simply on his way to the next attempt against his life. He wouldn't be able to put so many locks on his door in Lhant. They weren't telling him very much about the Lhant family – for all he knew, they could be helping to craft a conspiracy.

_It'll just be another place where I don't belong._

_ Another place full of fake smiles and meaningless promises of trust._

"Okay, that's everything," the maid said with a forced smile of her own as she closed the suitcases. "Are you ready to go, Prince Richard?"

"It's not as though I have a choice," he said as he rose to his feet and pulled a key from his pocket. "Just like always."

_It's the same everywhere…_

_ No allies to be found and the same old dangers when the lights go out._

* * *

__Author's Note:

Don't cry, lil princey. You're going to meet a derpy boy and propose to him.

Drabble times! This one was for the prompt "Lights Out."

Sort of weird area between dramatic and narrative writing here. XD Oh well.


End file.
